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No. 625,093. Patented May 16, I899.

T. G. DEXTER. T

SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER. (Application filed June 11, 189$.Y (No Model.) 9 Sheets--8hoei l.

jZyTi fi g/ii 4 a. K

. ATTORNEY No. 625,093 Patented May 16,:899.

- 'r. c. DEXTER,

SLITTING AND BEGISTERlNG SHEETS 0F PAPERI (Application filed June 11, 1898.)

9 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

INVENTOR A ATTORNEY Patented May 16, I899; T. C. DEXTER.

SLiTTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

(Application filed June 1'1, 1998.

9 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

INVENTOR Maw/; fkw 4% ATTORNEY Patented May I6, I899.

v T. c. DEXTER. SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

(Application filed Jurle 11, was.

9 Sheets-Sheet 4.

4N0 Model.)

' INVENTOR! M1 8; M w

42 ATTORNEY I'I'NES ES No. 625,093. Patented May l6, I899. T. B. DEXTER. SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

(Application filed June 11, 1898.)

9 Shank-Sheet 5.

80 Model.)

No. 625,093. Patented May l6, I899. T. C. DEXTER.

SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

(Application filed Jxine 11, 1898) 9 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

1| \i E: N

x mvEN'roR fl g 410 ATTORNEY No. 625,093. Patented May.l6, I899.

- T. 'C. DEXTER.

SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

(Application filed June 11, 1898.)

(No Model.) r 9 Sheets-Sheefl 7.

11' E SES 1 NVENTOIR ATTORNE No. 625,093. Patented May l6, I899. T. C. DEXTER.

SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

(Application filed June 11, 1898.)

9 Sheets-Sheet 8.

@No Model.)

INVENTORI @z%@w %ATTORNEY No. 625,093. Patented May [6, I899.v

T. C. DEXTER.

SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

(Application filed June 11, 1898.) (No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 9.

I I I Ji l WIT Esss: INVENII'OR @nsrromlav we mums PETERS co. PHOYOJJTNQI,

WASHINGTON, D. c

UNrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TALBOT O. DEXTER, OF PEARL RIVER, NEW YORK.

SLITTING AND REGISTERING SHEETS OF PAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters JPatent N0. 62 5,093, dated May 16, 1899.

Application filed June '11, 1898. $erial No. 683,166. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TALBOT O. DEXTER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pearl River, in the county of Rockland, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Slitting and Registering Sheets of Paper, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to devices employed for cutting slits in paper for the purpose of registering the sheet by a so-called -pointing instrument entering the slit preparatory to either folding, ruling, or otherwise accurately operating on said sheet. Hitherto it has been customary to effect said slitting of the sheet during its transit through the printing-press by means of cutters set into the form of the press and necessarily of practically the same height as the typein the form. Such arrangement of the slitting devices is,

' however,very obj ection'ab1e,inasm uch as said devices damage the composition rollers used for inking the forms in the printing-press, and also cut more or less the packing or tympan on the impression-cylinder of the press.

The object of this invention is to obviate the aforesaid injuries and also to automatically and accurately register the sheet during its transit from a paper-feeding machine to the printing-press, which latter arrangement of registering the sheet is very important for the reason that it has been found very difficult to obtain on a paper-feeding machine of a printing-press an absolutely accurate register in a sheet which is required to be fed repeatedly to the press to make successive impressions of different colors on the sheet, as is the case in printing colored illustrations, and any defect in the registering of the sheet impairs or destroys the effect of the print.

To attain the aforesaid objects the present invention consists in the novel construction and combination of mechanisms, as hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of an apparatus embodying my invention. Fig.2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of that portion of the apparatus at which the longitudinal registering of the sheet is effected. Fig.

4 is a fragmentary plan view of the devices for simultaneously adjusting to their required position the reversely-rotatin g roller and droproller employed for drawing the sheet back from the gage located at the impression-cylroller with the means for raising and lowering said'drop-roller and means for lifting the paper out of contact with the tapes during the operation of said rollers upon the paper. Fig. 9 is a side view of the devices employed for cutting a transverse slit in the paper, to- 1 gether with the gage or detent which arrests the movement of the paper during the operation of the slitter. Fig. 10 is an enlarged transverse section on line Y Y in Fig. 2. Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the lateral registering instrument. Fig. 121s a plan view of the same. horizontal section beneath the line X X in Fig. 12. Fig. 13 is a plan view of the lateral paper-shifting gripper with parts of the top plate of the shoe broken away. Fig. 14 is a longitudinal section on line 0 0 in Fig. 13. Fig. 15 is an end view of said gripper. Fig. 16 is an enlarged detached plan view of a sheet of paper having the registering-slits made therein by my improved means. Fig. l7isa side view of the mechanism for transmitting motion to the reversely-rotating paper-shifting rollers, and Fig. 18 is an enlarged transverse section of the drop-roller arm, taken at the line U in Fig. 3.

Fig. 12 is a I Similar letters and numerals of reference per end of the feed-board A, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. From the delivery end of said feeding-machine to the lower end of the feed-board adjacent to the impressioncylinder A extends a frame 0, which I connect to the feeding-machine B in such a manner as to allow the said frame to be removed from over the feed-board when it is desired to feed the paper by hand to the printingpress. For this purpose I prefer to connect to the feeding-machine a transverse shaft a, to which I pivotally connect the frame 0, so as to allow the latter to be swung up from the feed-board, as represented by dotted linesin Fig. 1 of the drawings.

1) I) represent the drop-rollers, which are arranged over the usual delivering-rollers of the paper-feeding machine.

0 denote paper-conveying tapes which ex tend part Way the length of the frame 0 and are carried on rollers a, secured to the shaft a, and on the rollers c, secured to a transverse shaft c journaled in bearings on the side rails of the frame 0. Another set of tapes 01 extends from rollers d on the shaft (3 to rollers d on a transverse shaft d located a short distance from the impression-cylinder A. The two sets of tapes receive motion by means of a gear 1, attached to the shaft a and meshing with a gear2 of the paper-feeding machine. A short distance from the rear of the shaft 0 are detents or gages e e for temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet carried on the tapes 0 0. These gages I preferably attach to the free ends ofarms 6 e, secured to a transverse shaft 6 journaled in the side rails of the frame 0 and receiving an intermittent rocking motion by means of an arm 6 attached to the end of said shaft and having pivoted to its free end a roller by which it bears on a cam 6 attached to a rotary main shaft D, mounted in brackets e 6', attached to the side rails of the aforesaid frame. This main shaft extends the greater part of the length of the frame 0 and is employed to transmit motion to various other mechanisms comprised in my present invention, as hereinafter described.

The shaft D derives its rotary motion from a miter-pinion D, attached to the shaft a, and engaging a corresponding pinion D attached to the shaft D.

A suitable distance back from the gage e are instruments f and f for momently cutting short or minute longitudinal and transverse registering-slits in the sheet while held at rest by the gage 6. These slitting instruments are attached to or formed on the free ends of arms f extending from a transverse shaft g, to which they are ad justably secured to allow the arms)" to be shifted laterally, so as to cause the slitting instruments to cut the slits exactly in the required locations in the sheet. Said slitting instruments are actuated by means of an arm g, fixed to the end of the shaft g and having pivoted to its free end a roller 9 hearing on a cam 9 fastened to the shaft D. Directly under the aforesaid slitting instruments are anvils h h, mounted on a transverse rod or shaft h and secured thereto adj ustably to conform to the positions of the slitting instruments f f. Said anvils are provided in their tops with grooves 712, into which the slitters proper enter in their operation of piercing the interposed sheet, which is held stationary by the gages e 6 during the operation of the slitting instruments. In order to allow the said slitting instruments and anvils to be adjusted longitudinally in their positions, so as to cause the slits to be made at the requisite dis= tances from the front or rear edge of the sheet, I attach the rod or shaft h to a car riage consisting of bars t i, disposed length= wise of the side rails of the frame 0 and riding on suitable longitudinal guides v1,attached to the said side rails, as more clearly shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings. To the said bars Mare also fastened the journal-boxes 2' 1, in which the shaft g is mounted, and thus adjusted simultaneously with the anvil-supporting shaft h. Said adjustment is effected by means of screws 11 journaled in bear ings i 2, attached to the carriage-bars i, said screws passing through nuts or screw-threaded eyes on the carriage-bars. By turning the said screws the described carriage is moved backward or forward on the frame 0, as may be desired.

To cause the cam g to be adjusted in its position automatically with the aforesaid longitudinal adjustment of the carriage, I mount said cam loosely on the shaft D and connect it thereto by spline and groove to compel the cam to rotate with the shaft. To the adjacent portion of the carriage-bar i I attach an arm "L the free end of which engages a circumferential groove i in the hub of the cam.

Inasmuch as the sheets delivered from the feeding-machine are liable to vary somewhat in their positions in relation to the line of delivery, it is necessary to side-guide the delivered sheet before subjecting it to the operation of the aforesaid slitting instruments, and for this purpose I employ a suitable lateral registeringinstrument, preferably of the form of the reciprocating gripper shown in Figs. 13, 14, and 15 of the drawings and similar to the gripper represented in my Letters Patent No. 599,319, dated February 22, 1898, and consisting, essentially, of a shoe 3, which is mounted adjustably on a bar 4:, which is caused to reciprocate intermittently by means of a cam 10, pushing the bar longitudinally in opposition to a spring 11. This shoe is open at opposite ends and at the side adjacent to the line of travel of the paper on the tapes. The top of the shoe is provided with an opening 5, extending down into the cavity of the shoe and receiving through it the free end of the gripper-finger 6, which is attached to a shaft 7, supported on top of the shoe. To said shaft is also attached a twoarmed tumbler 8, over which is a transverse rock-shaft 9, supported on brackets attached to the sides of the frame 0. Said shaft is actuated by a cam 12 and spring 14, which conjointly impart a reciprocating motion to a pit man 13, connected to an arm 15, secured to the end of the shaft 9. To this shaft is fastened a plate 16, which extends lengthwise thereof and plays between the two arms of the tumbler 8, as more clearly shown in Fig. 14 of the drawings. The rocking of the shaft 9 causes the plate 16 to turn the tumbler S, and thereby throw the gripper-finger 6 into and out of position for gripping the paper entered into the shoe 3. A spring-finger 17, attached to the shoe and bearing on a lug 18, attached to the shaft 7, serves to impart spring action to the gripper-fingers, as described in detail in my aforesaid Letters Patent.

Before allowing the slitted sheet to pass into the printing-press it is deemed'advisable to again register the sheet longitudinally, as well as laterally. This is effected by instrumentality of the following mechanism:

The movement of the slitted sheet to the printing-press is temporarily arrested by the press-gage I, which in this instance I place about one-fourth of an inch forward from the usual position for registering the sheet. I

. subsequently withdrawn from said gage and placed in position to allow the grippers of the impression'cylinder to obtain their requisite holds on the sheet. This withdrawal is effected by means of rubber-faced rollers J, fastened to a horizontal shaft J, which is at right angles to the tapes d d and journaled in suitable hearings on the side rails of the frame 0. By means of said shaft the rollers are supported in positions to bring their top surfaces slightly beneath the plane of the tapes, said rollers rotating with their top surfaces in a direction reverse from the travel of the tapes, which motion is imparted to the rollers by means of a sprocket-chain j, engaging the bottom portion of a sprocket-wheel j, attached to the shaft J and running on sprocket-wheels j and f, attached to the taperoller shafts c and (1 as best seen in Fig. 17 of the drawings. I prefer to place the reversely-rotatin g rollers J as far back as possible from the press-gage without losing the necessary hold upon the sheet for drawing the same back from said gage. Over each of said rollers is a drop-roller J which momentally bears on the sheet arrested by the pressgage, and by pressing it down upon the reversely-rotating rubber-faced roller J it causes the sheet to be withdrawn from the press-gage. The drop-roller J is pivoted to the free end of an arm J which is loosely mounted on shaft is, extending transversely over the tapes cl and journaled in arms F projecting from a cross-bar F, mounted on the side rails of the frame 0.

end of said shaft and connected at its free end by a rod Z to an arm Z attached to a transverse shaft Z which receives an intermittent rocking motion by another arm Z on.

said shaft bearing on a cam Z attached to shaft D.

To relieve the sheet from contact with the tapes cl (1 during the aforesaid withdrawal of the sheet from the press-gage, I employ longitudinal paper-supporting barsZ Z, arranged between the tapes and raised and lowered alternately to carry the tops of said bars periodically a slight distance above the plane of the tapes and back to or slightly below said plane. For imparting the aforesaid movement to the bars I l Iemploy transverse rockshafts Z P, mounted in suitable hearings on the sides of the frame C and having extending from them arms to the free ends of which are connected transverse bars l Z to the tops of which the longitudinal bars Zlare connected. The aforesaid rock-shafts l l are actuated by means of an arm an, attached to the end of the shaft l and provided on its free end with a roller by which it bears on a cam m, attached to the shaft D, as more clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. To cause the two rock-shafts to operate in unison, they are provided with arms Z Z, which are connected by a rod Z ICC To automatically control to a definite degree the aforesaid withdrawal of the sheet, so as to place it in proper position to be taken by the grippers of the impression-cylinder, I employ a registering instrument 0, provided with a point for engaging the transverse slit m in the sheet, (shown in Fig. 16 of the drawings,) which engagement is effected during the withdrawal of the sheet from the press-gage I and actuates an electric circuitcontroller which is in circuit with two sets of magnets L, facing armatures L, attached to the free ends of levers L which are loosely mounted on the shaft'k and are formed with lugs L engaging the under sides of lateral projections k on the drop-roller arms J as shown in Fig. 18. The closing of the circuit by the engagement of the aforesaid registering-point-with the slit in the paper causes the magnets L L to become energized, and by their attracting the armatures L the drop-rollers J 2 are lifted to release the sheet from the influence of the reversely-rotating rollers J. By this time the press-gage has been lifted out of the way in the usual manner and the sheet has been registered and adjusted to its proper position to pass to the printing-press, into which it is then drawn by the grippers of the impression-cylinder. The bars 1 l are in the meantime retained in their elevated position to prevent the tapes from disturbing the sheet from its registered position. After the sheet has passed into the printingpress the bars Z Z are lowered and at the same time the drop-roller J is further lifted by the cam to allow the next sheet to be carried under the drop-rollers by the tapes. The magnets L are supported on brackets F F, which are mounted on a cross-bar F, secured at its ends to the sides of the frame 0. Each pair of magnets is adapted to be shifted lengthwise on its supporting-bar F and is adjusted in its position by means of a screw H, journaled in the side of the frame 0 and shouldered thereat to prevent longitudinal movement of the screw, which passes through a correspondingly screw-threaded eye on the bracket F. The arm J and lever L are also adapted to be shifted longitudinally on their shaft 70 and adjustably secured thereto to accommodate the armature L to the position of the magnet. The rubber-faced roller J is also movable longitudinally on its shaft J and thus adjustable to conform to the aforesaid change of position of the drop-roller J The adjustment of the roller J is effected by means of a screw 11, journaled in the side of the frame 0 and working in a nut H on a yoke H which embraces the said roller endwise. To adjust this roller simultaneously with the drop-roller and magnet, I attach to the end of the two screws H and H sprocket-wheels N N and connect said wheels by a sprocketchain N, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The aforesaid registering instrument O is pivoted to a bracket 0, supported upon an arm 0, projecting from a yoke o,which is mounted longitudinally adjustable on a cross-bar 0 secured at its ends to the sides of the frame 0. Said yoke is adjusted in its position by means of a screw 0 passing through a screw-threaded eye in the yoke 0 and journaled on a bracket 0 attached to the cross-bar. By turning the screw 0 the yoke is shifted on the cross-bar to move the registering instrument laterally to its required position for engaging the slit in the paper. It is, however, also essential to adjust said registering instrument longitudinally or in a direction parallel with the tapes, and for this purpose I form the supporting-hub of the bracket 0 with an car 19, which is provided with a screw-threaded eye, receiving through it a screw 13, which is parallel with the sup porting-arm 0 and is journaled in an car 19 projecting from said arm, as more clearly illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. By means of a serrated head or thumb-piece p on the end of the screw the latter can be turned to cause the supporting-bracket O of the registering instrument to move backward or forward on the arm 0, as may be required to effeet the aforesaid adjustment. The lower end of the registering instrument has attached to it the point 13 which enters the slit in the sheet in the operation of registering the same. To the upper free end of the said instrument is attached one of the electric terminals 9 facing the other terminal 0", consisting of a set-screw adjustably connected to a plate 1*, which projects from the supporting-bracket O and is insulated therefrom, as shown at 0*". One of said terminals is connected by a wire r directly to the magnets L, and the other terminal is connected by a wire r directly to the battery P, from whence a wire r extends to the aforesaid magnets. The aforesaid ter minals constitute a circuit maker and breaker or controller, which is yielding held in a condition to normally break the circuit,

In the operation of the registering instrument entering its point 19 into the slit in the sheet and bringing the edge of the slitted portion to press on the front of the adjacent end of the instrument the latter is rocked and caused to bring the terminal r in contact with the terminal 7", and thus close the circuit, which causes the magnets L to attract the armatures L, and thereby lift the drop-rollers J so as to release the sheet from the subjacent reversely-rotating rollers J and allow said sheet to slide on the bars Z Z while being drawn into the printing-press by the grippers of the impression-cylinder.

In connection with the registering instrument 0, I prefer to employ a vertically-movable bridge s, arranged between longitudinal bars 61 which conduct the sheet from the tapes d to the printing-press. Said bridge is actuated to automatically rise, so as to project above the plane of the bars d during the before-described withdrawal of the sheet from the printing-press gage I and to descend beneath said plane in time to allow the sheet to freely pass over the bridge and to the printing-press. Saidbridgeislocatedimmediately in front of the point p of the registering instrument, and in the rearward movement of the sheet the transversely slitted portion thereof is carried onto the bridge 8, which lifts said portion against the bottom of the registering-point p and thereby causes the slit to be opened or distended to facilitate the entrance of the point p into said slit. The further rearward movement of the sheet causes the edge of the slit to tilt the registering instrument O, and thereby closes the electric circuit, as hereinbefore described. To actuate the bridge 8 automatically, so as to cause it to rise and descend synchronously with the descending and rising of the drop-rollers J I prefer to mount the said bridge on the free end of the arm 8, extending from a transverse shaft 5 mounted in bearings on the sides of the frame 0. To the end of this shaft is secure an arm 5 which is connected at its free end to an extension of the rod Z which transmits motion to the drop-roller arms J To permit the bridge to be adjusted in its position to conform to the hereinbeforerdescribed adjustment of the registering instrument 0,

the arm 8' is adapted to be shifted longitudinally on the shaft 5' and clamped in its required position by a set-screw s and said arm is provided with a longitudinal slot 8 as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and the bridge is secured to the arm by a bolt passing through said slot.

Before the aforesaid longitudinal registering of the sheet and immediately after the sheet has been arrestedby the press-gage and while lifted by the bars Z Z said sheet is to be registered laterally to carry the slitted or perforated portions thereof in to the blank spaces between the pages subsequently printed on the sheet in passing through the printingpress, and for thispurpose I prefer to employ a registering instrument which is provided with a point adapted to enter one of the longitudinal slits m in the sheet, which sheet is illustrated in Fig. 16 of the drawings. The location of said instrument is indicated-at M in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and the species selected for illustrating my present invention is of the form shown in my Letters Patent No. 561,771, dated June 9, 1896, and illustrated in detail in Figs. 11, 12, and 12 of the drawings hereto annexed. The construction and operation of said lateral registering instrument are as follows:

To the side of the frame 0 are secured horizontal guides it, which extend at right angles therefrom and part way across the series of sheet-conducting bars 61 Upon said guides is mounted a bracket 25, consisting of two arms disposed one over the other and extending lengthwise of the guides f i. To the lower arm is attached a nut 25 which is axially parallel with the guides t and embraces a screw i journaled in the sides of the frame C and provided with ahand-wheel i, by which to turn said screw, and thereby move the bracket 25 on the guides and adjust it to allow the registering instrument to operate on sheets of different widths. To the inner end of the lower arm of said bracket is pivoted the rubber-faced roller t which is rotated with its upper surface toward the side of the frame C by means of a miter-gear i attached to the shaft of said roller and meshing with a slmilar gear i secu red to a sleeve i mount-- ed on a shaft 75 extending lengthwise of the bracket 25 and journaled in suitable bearings on said bracket. Said shaft receives rotary motion by means of a sprocket-wheel attached to the outer end of said shaft and connected by a sprocket-chain with a sprocket-wheel i attached to the rotary shaft 0 To the inner end of the upper arm of the bracket t is. pivoted a vertically-movable arm a, in which is journaled the drop-roller u, disposed directly over the roller F. The pivoted end of the arm a is formed with an outwardlyprojecting heel U2, and directly over this heel is a toe 2?, which projects from a rockshaft n pivoted to the bracket t, by means of which rock-shaft the too a is caused to intermittently lift the arm a, with the droproller u, so as to permit the sheet of paper to pass freely underneath said roller. The rock-shaft a is actuated by a miter-gear a attached to said shaft and meshing with a similar gear a attached to a sleeve 117, which is mounted on a shaft u extending to the side of the frame 0, where said shaft has attached to it an arm it", which is connected by a rod 10 to an arm n on the end of the rockshaft 2, hereinbefore referred to. Upon the upper arm of the bracket t is. mounted an electromagnet K, the armature K of which is attached to the free end of a lever K pivoted to the bracket-arm by the pivot-pin of the drop-roller arm 'Lb. The pivoted end of the said lever is formed with a lug w, to which is adjustably connected a screw w, disposed directly over a portion of the heel "n Said screw is so adjusted that when the armature is attracted by the magnets K the screw depresses the heel a and thereby lifts the drop-roller arm a. The energy of the magnet is controlled by a vertical pin to, which slides in a vertical guide 10 secured to .a plate 10, extending from the upper arm of the bracket Tothe upper end of said pin is secured a terminal 11, underneath which is a terminal 1; of an electric circuit derived from a generator or battery T and including the magnet K. The pin passes through an. eye in the inner end of the drop-roller arm 11 and is provided with a collar 0 directly over said arm to cause the pin to be lifted out of the path of the paper by the lifting of said arm.

The operation of the described lateral registerin g instrument is as follows: During the movement of the sheet to the press-gages I the drop-rolleru is lifted mechanically by the toe d on the rockshaft a pressing on the heel u on the drop-roller arm a. The lifting of said arm also lifts the pin 10 out of the path of the sheet. After the sheet has been arrested by the press-gages I and while supported upon the bars Z Z the aforesaid too a releases the heel M2 and allows the drop-roller arm a to fall and cause the drop-roller to press the sheet into contact with the subjacent rotating roller i which by its frictional hold on said sheet draws the same toward the side of the frame O. During this movement the pin 10 rides upon the sheet, which supports the pin in position to hold the terminal 12 out of contact with the terminal o. Said movement continues until the slit in the sheet is brought under the pin n1 which then drops into the slit, and thereby brings the terminal 1; in contact with the terminal 1) and closes the circuit. The magnets K K being thus energized cause the armature thereof to actuate the lever K so as to lift the drop-roller arm usufficient-ly to release the sheet from the pressure of the drop-rollerand lift the pin L02 out of the slit. In this manner the lateral registerin g of the sheet is accomplished. The sheet is subsequently drawn longitudinally back from the press-gage and registered longitudinally during this latter movement, as hereinbefore described.

The entire operation of myinvention,brietly stated, is as follows: The sheet passes from the paper-feeding machine B onto the tapes 0 c, which carry said sheet along until its movement is arrested by the gages e 0. Then while the sheetis held at rest the gripper 3 shifts the sheet laterally into proper position to receive slits at predetermined locations in the sheet. Then the slitting instrumentsf and f descend and cut the longitudinal and transverse slits m m in the sheet. As soon as said instruments have released the sheet the gages e 6 drop out of the way to allow the sheet to be moved forward by the tapes 0 c, which carry the sheet to the tapes d cl, which latter further advance the sheet and carry it to the printing-press gages I, by which the movement of the sheet is temporarily arrested. While the sheet is thus at rest, the bars ZZ rise and lift the sheet from the tapes sufficiently to relieve it from the frictional hold of said tapes. The sheet thus riding on the bars I Z is then registered laterally by the instrument M. As soon as this registering has been effected the bridge sis lifted to press on the underside of the sheet and the drop-rollers J are allowed to descend and press the sheet into contact with the reversely-revolving rubber-faced rollers .I, which cause the sheet to be drawn back from the printingpress gages, and during said movement the registering instrument 0 is tilted by contact with the edge of the slit opened by the bridge 3. This action of the registering instrument 0 closes the electric circuit and causes the magnets L to lift the drop-rollers J 2 by the action of the armatures L. At the same time the press-gages I are lifted out of the Way to allow the sheet to freely pass to the printingpress, into which it is drawn by the usual grippers of the impression-cylinder. During thislast movement of the sheet the bars Z Z are retained in their elevated positions to prevent the tapes d d from disturbing the sheet from its registered position. As soon as the sheet has passed into the printing-press the barsZ Z are lowered, and the drop-rollers J are further.

lifted by the cam 7t, and the bridge 8 is simultaneously dropped out of the way to permit the succeeding sheet to freely pass to the printing press gages I, which are by that time in position to arrest the sheet carried thereto by the tapes.

I wish it to be understood that while I have described and shown certain detail constructions of the mechanisms adapted for attaining the object of my invention I do not limit myself to such constructions, as the same are susceptible of many modifications without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is- 1. In combination with a printing-press and paper-conveyers communicating with said press, a cutter located in the'path of the paper on said conveyers separate from the press and actuated to cut a registering-perforation in the paper.

2. The combination with paper-conveying tapes, and gages actuated to temporarily arrest the paper upon said tapes, of intermittently-operating cutters timed to pierce the paper during the period of its rest.

3. The combination with paper-conveying tapes, of a plurality of intermittently-operating cutters disposed to out longitudinal and transverse slits in different parts of the width of the paper.

4. The combination with paper-conveyers and an instrument registering the paper by engaging a perforation in said paper preparatory to the delivery of the paper from said conveyers, of a perforating instrument located in the path of the paper upon said conveyers and timed to perforate the paper preparatory to being acted on by the aforesaid registering instrument.

5. In combination with a printing-press and tapes conveying the paper to said press, a perforating instrument located in the path of the paper on said conveyers and timed to cut a minute registering-perforation in a predetermined position in the paper to carry the perforated portion thereof in the blank spaces between the pages subsequently printed on the paper in passing through the aforesaid press.

6. The combination, with paper-conveying tapes and gages actuated to temporarily arrest the paper upon said tapes, of a plurality of intermittently-operating cutters timed to pierce the paper during the period of its rest and cutting longitudinal and transverse slits in different parts of the width of the paper.

7. In combination with a printing-press, a paper-feeding machine a frame extending from said machine to the press, and sheetconveying tapes extending lengthwise of said frame, a carriage extending across the frame, means for adjusting the carriage longitudiv nally in its position, a transverse bar secured to one end of said frame, an anvil mounted on said bar, a shaft parallel with said bar and supported revolubly on the carriage, an arm secured to said shaft, a sheet-slitter attached to said arm and carried thereby over the anvil, and mechanism imparting oscillatory motion to the aforesaid shaft as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In combination with a printing-press, a paper-feeding machine, a frame extending from said machine to the press, and sheet-conveying tapes extending lengthwise of said frame, a carriage extending across the frame and adjustable lengthwise thereof, a transverse bar attached to one end of said carriage, an anvil mounted on said bar and elongated in a direction lengthwise of the bar and provided in its top with a groove extending lengthwise of the anvil, a transverse shaft mounted revolubly on the opposite end of the carriage, an arm connected to the shaft ad- 3' ustably length wise thereof, a sheet-slitter at IIO tached to said arm and carried thereby over the groove in the anvil, means for adjusting the carriage longitudinally in its position, and mechanism imparting oscillatory motion to the aforesaid shaft as set forth.

9. In combination with a printing-press, a paper-feeding machine, a frame extending from said machine to the press, and sheet-conveying tapes extending lengthwise of said frame, a carriage extending across said frame and adjustable longitudinally thereon, a transverse bar attached to one end of said carriage, an anvil mounted on said bar, a shaft supported revolubly on theopposite end of said carriage, an arm extending from said shaft toward the anvil, a sheet-slitter attached to the free end of said arm and carried thereby to and from the anvil, a rotary shaft'extending along the side of'the aforesaid frame, a cam mounted longitudinally movable on said shaft and forced to rotate therewith by spline and groove, and provided with an external circumferential groove in its hub, an arm attached to the carriage and engaging the groove of said hub to shift the cam in unison with the movement of the carriage, an arm 011 the transverse shaft and actuated by the cam, and means for adjusting the carriage longitudinally in its position as set forth.

10. The combination with a paper-feeding machine, of a frame extending from the delivery end of said machine, sheet-conveying tapes extending lengthwise of said frame, a transverse rock-shaft connected to the frame, an arm attached to said shaft at one of the spaces between the tapes, a gageattached to the free end of said arm, an anvil disposed immediately under the plane of the sheet-conveying tapes, a rock-shaft extending across the aforesaid frame, an arm extending from the latter shaft, a sheet-slitter attached to the free end of said arm and carried thereby over the anvil, a rotary shaft extending along the side of the frame, cams attached to said rotary shaft, and arms attached to the transverse shaft and receiving oscillatory motion from the cams and timed in theirmovements to throw the gage in the path of the paper in advance of the movement of the slitter to the anvil as set forth.

11; The combination with a paper-feeding machine, of a frame extending from the delivery end of said machine, sheet-conveying tapes extending lengthwise of saidframe, an anvil disposed immediately beneath the plane of the sheet conveying tapes, transverse rockshafts connected to said frame, a sheet-arresting gage secured to one of said shafts, a sheet-slitting instrument secured to the other of said rock-shafts and carried to and from the anvil, arms attached to the ends of the rock-shafts, a gripper reciprocating transversely to the tapes, a shaft extending along the side of the aforesaid frame, cams attached to said shaft, and means for transmitting motions from said cams to the two rock-shafts and to the aforesaid gripper, said movements ment located between the piercing instrument and printing-press, and a pointing instrument controlling the registering of the sheet by engagement with the pierced portion thereof.

13. The combination with a printing-press and a paper-feeding machine supplying the paper to said press, of a gage actuated to temporarily arrest the movement of the sheet delivered from the feeding-machine, a sheetslitting instrument actuated momently' to pierce the arrested sheet, tapes conveying the slitted sheet to the printing-press, a gage temporarily arresting the movement of thesheet at said press, and a sheet-registering instrument operating on said arrested sheet as set forth.

1t. The combination with a printing-press,

. slitted sheet at the printing-press, mechanisms drawing the sheet backfrom the latter gage, and a registering instrument operating on the slitted portion of the sheet during its withdrawal from the said gage as set forth.

15. The combination with a printingpress, a paper-feeding machine, and tapes conveying the paper to the press, of a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet toward the printing-press, a gripper shifting the arrested sheet laterally, a slitting instrument momently piercing the shifted sheet, a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet at the printing-press, mechanism lifting the arrested sheet from the tapes, .a registering instrument shifting the lifted sheet, and means for delivering the registered sheet to the printing-press. 16. The combination with a printing-press, a paper-feeding machine, tapes conveying the paper to the press, and a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet at said press, of mechanisms lifting the arrested sheet from the tapes, means for drawing the lifted sheet back from the gage, a registering instrument operating on the sheet during said Withdrawal, a registering instrument shifting the sheet laterally, and means for delivering the registered sheet to the printing-press.

17. A- paper-registering instrument comprising a vertically-movable bridge disposed IOO normally beneath the plane of the sheet-supmeans for shifting the sheet to carry its registering-slit over the bridge, and a pointing instrument engaging said slit as set forth.

18. The combination With a printing-press, a paper-feeding machine, tapes conveying the paper to said press, and a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the paper at the press, of a sheet-slittinginstrument momently piercing the sheet in its passage to the printing-press, a vertically-movable bridge disposed normally beneath the plane of the sheetconveying tapes,mechanisms temporarily lifting said bridge to protrude above said plane, means for drawing the sheet back from the aforesaid gage and carrying the slitted portion of the sheet over the bridge, and a pointing instrument adjacent to the bridge and engaging the slits in the sheet as set forth.

19. The combination With the paper-conveying tapes and a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the paper, a vertically-movable bridge normally beneath the plane of said tapes, mechanisms temporarily lifting said bridge to protrude above said plane, a paper-shifting roller disposed With its top surface in proximity to the aforesaid plane and moving with said surface reverse from the travel of the tapes, a drop-roller over said paper-shifting roller, and a pointing instrument engaging a slit in the paper while under the influence of the paper-shifting roller as set forth.

y 20. The combination With the paper-conveying tapes and a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the paper, a vertically-movable bridge normally beneath the plane of the tapes, mechanisms temporarily lifting said bridge, a paper-shifting roller disposed with its top surface in proximity to the plane of the tapes and rotating reverse from the travel of the tapes, a drop-roller over said papershifting roller, mechanism lifting the paper from the tapes during the downward pressure of the drop-roller, and a pointing instrument over the rear of the bridge and engaging the slit in the paper during the rearward draft of the paper by the aforesaid rollers as set forth.

21. In combination with a printing-press, a paper-feeding machine and tapes conveying the sheet to said press, gages temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet in its passage to the printing-press, a plurality of slitting instrumentscutting respectively longitudinal and transverse slits in the arrested sheet, a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet at the printing-press,a registering instrument drawing the sheet laterally, means for engaging the longitudinal slit and thereby registering the arrested sheet back from the latter gage, and a registering instrument provided with a point entering the transverse slit in the sheet during the aforesaid withdrawal of the sheet, as set forth.

22. The combination with a printing-press, a paper-feeding machine and tapes conveying the sheet to said press, of a gage temporarily arresting the sheet in transit, an instrument cutting a registering-slit in the arrested sheet, a press-gage temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet at the printing-press, rockshafts beneath the tapes and extending across the same, arms on said rock-shafts, bars parallel with said shafts and carried on the free ends of said arms normally in the plane of the tapes, mechanisms operating the rockshafts and thereby intermittently lifting the aforesaid bars above the plane of the tapes to release the sheet from contact with the tapes, a roller immediately under said plane and rotating with its upper surface in a direct-ion reverse from the travel of the tapes, a drop-roller pressing the sheet in termittently onto said reverse-moving roller to Withdraw the sheet from the aforesaid press-gage, and a registering instrument provided With a point entering the slit in the paper during said Withdrawal of the sheet as set forth.

23. The combination with a printing-press,. a paper-feeding machine and tapes conveying the sheet to said press, of an instrument cutting a registering-slit in the sheet in transit, a gage at the printing-press temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet thereat rock-shafts disposed transverselybeneath the tapes, arms extending from said rock-shafts, cross-bars on the free ends of said arms, longitudinal paper-supporting bars secured to said cross-bars, mechanism operating the rock-shafts and thereby intermittently lifting said bars above the plane of the tapes, a roller immediately under the plane of the tapes and rotating with its uppersurface in a direction reverse from the travel of the tapes, a bracket supported above the plane of the tapes, an electromagnet mounted on said bracket, a rock-shaft extending across the machine adjacent to said bracket,an arm mounted loosely on said shaft, a drop-roller pivoted to the free end of said arm, a lever mounted loosely on said shaft and adapted to lift the said arm, the armature fixed to the free end of said lever, a cam attached to the aforesaid shaft to further lift the aforesaid arm by the rocking of the shaft, mechanism actuating said rockshaft, a roller directly under the aforesaid drop-roller and rotated in a direction reverse from the travel of the tapes to Withdraw the paper from the press-gage, and a circuit-controller actuated by the paperin its aforesaid withdrawal as set forth.

24. In combination With the sheet-conveying tapes, a gage temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet, a rotary roller under the plane of the tapes and moving with its top surface reverse from the travel of the tapes, a transverse shaft above the tapes, an arm mounted loosely on said shaft and having pivoted to its free end a drop-roller disposed directly over the aforesaid reverselyrotating roller, a lever mounted loosely on said shaft and provided with means for lifting the aforesaid arm, an armature attached to said lever, an electromagnet facing said armature, a cam fastened to the aforesaid transverse shaft to further lift thearm by the rocking of the shaft, a transverse shaft beyond the tapes'and beneath the plane there of, an arm extending from said shaft and terminated with an upward-projecting bridge, arms on the ends of the aforesaid two transverse shafts,a rod connectingsaid arms, aregistering instrument disposed-over the aforesaid bridge to engage the registering slit in the paper, and a circuit-controller in circuit with the aforesaid magnet and actuated by the registering instrument as set forth.

25. The combination with a printing-press, a paper-feedin g machine and tapes conveying the paper to said press, of a gage temporarily arresting the paper in transit, instruments cutting slits longitudinally and transversely in the arrested sheet, a gageat the printingpress temporarily arresting the movement of the sheet thereat, rock-shafts disposed transversely beneath the tapes, arms extending from said shafts, cross-bars on the free ends of said arms, longitudinal paper-supporting bars secured to said cross-bars, a roller im mediately under the plane of the tapes and revolving with the top in the direction reverse from the travel of the tapes to withdraw the sheet from the aforesaid press-gage, a transverse shaft above the tapes, an arm mounted loosely on said shaft and carrying on its free end a drop-roller directly over the reverselyrotating roller, a lever mounted loosely 011 said shaft, an armature attached to said lever, electromagnets facing said armature, a cam fastened to the transverse shaft to further lift the arm by the rocking of the shaft, a transverse shaft beyond the tapes and beneath the plane thereof, an arm extending from the latter shaft and terminated with an upwardprojecting bridge, a registering instrument disposed over said bridge to engage the transverse registering-slit in the sheet during the withdrawal of the sheet from the press-gage, a circuit-controller in circuit with the aforesaid magnets and actuated by the said registering instrument, a lateral registering instrument engaging the longitudinal registering slit in the paper, a rotary shaft parallel with the tapes, and mechanisms transmitting motion from said shaft to the aforesaid sheetslitting, sheet-lifting and sheet-registering devices as set forth.

26. In combination witha paper-registering instrument provided with a point entering a slit in thepaper, a rock-shaft, an arm extending from said shaft, and a slit-opener carried on the free end of said arm as set forth.

27. In combination with a paperregisterin g instrument provided with a pointentering a slit in the paper, a rock-shaft, an arm extending from said shaft, and a slit-opening bridge mounted on said arm and secured longitudi= nally adjustable thereonas set forth.

28. The combination with the sheet-conveying tapes, a stationary bar disposed at right angles to said tapes, a yoke mounted longi 

